Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Michigan

Change Region

comments

Michigan juvenile lifers: Joint hearing scheduled on proposed changes to unconstitutional state law

Thomas-McCloud-Dontez Tillman-jlwop.JPG

Thomas McCloud, left, and Dontez Tillman were both 14 when police say they beat a homeless man to death behind a Pontiac nightclub in 2008. They are serving life in prison without chance of parole.
(AP Photo)

Update: The joint meeting of the House Criminal Justice and Senate Judiciary committees was rescheduled for August 27 at 9 a.m.

LANSING, MI -- State lawmakers are expected to hear testimony next month on proposed changes to Michigan's "juvenile lifer" law, which was deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court more than a year ago.

Chairs of the House Criminal Justice and Senate Judiciary committees have scheduled a joint session on August 14 for testimony -- but not a vote -- on bipartisan legislation to update state law in response to the ruling.

Michigan law gives prosecutors broad authority to seek adult charges against minors convicted of certain crimes, including first-degree murder. If convicted, those minors face mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision released in June of 2012, said that such mandatory sentences amount to an unconstitutional form of cruel and unusual punishment that fail to acknowledge the potential for character and cognitive development in young people.

Michigan is home to more than 350 juvenile lifers, the second highest number in the nation. One year after the Supreme Court ruling, their status remains uncertain, inflaming old wounds for victim families but offering new hope to some with loved ones behind bars.

State and federal courts here have wrestled with the question of retroactivity, offering different opinions on whether the Supreme Court ruling should apply to all juvenile lifers or only future offenders and those who remain on direct appeal.

The four-bill package, introduced last month by Republican Reps. Joe Haveman, Al Pscholka and Margaret O'Brien, would provide some answers.

House Bill 4806 would allow juvenile lifers or prosecuting attorneys to request a resentencing hearing. Judges would be required to consider mitigating circumstances, including the offender's youth at the time of their crime, before affirming the original sentence or considering an alternative, including a term of years less than life.

In the event that an offender was resentenced to life with the possibility of parole, House Bill 4809 would make them eligible for review after serving 15 years, including any time served under their original sentence. A member of the state parole board would be required to interview the prisoner every two years until their release or death.

Haveman, who organized a workgroup to help craft the legislation, believes it is a responsible reaction to the Supreme Court ruling.

"People are taking this serious," he previously told MLive. "I hope that it doesn't get caught up in a lot of rhetoric that we're soft on crime. We're trying to be consistent with what the Supreme Court said on this."

Update: The joint meeting of the House Criminal Justice and Senate Judiciary committees was rescheduled for August 27 at 9 a.m.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.